The Faith and the Fury
by Alfie Bibbit
Summary: Pyro finds it hard to comply to the rules and attitudes of the 'XMen' community. Even in the presence of his friends, and girlfriend Ali 'Dazzler' Blair, he continues to lock horns with those around him, particularly Scott 'Cyclops' Summers.


Ororo Monroe stretched up into a tall old cupboard and pulled down a pile of small books, setting them on her desk.  
"Thomas?" She called to a small, fair haired boy in the front. "Would you give one of these to everyone please? Thank you"  
The boy rose from his single desk, and took the pile of texts into his arms. Suddenly he disappeared in a blurry flash. His shape shot around the room, bursting and vanishing in different positions, each time dropping a book onto a desk.  
Ororo stepped up to the front of the small class, and clasped her hands together. "Alright. Tonight's homework"  
A collective groan echoed through the room, and a few heads slunk down onto desks.  
"Read through the first four chapters on the civil war, and start preparing your notes. We'll begin writing up the assignment in class tomorrow"  
The group got up, dragging their volumes from the desks unexcitedly, and shuffled out of the door. "John, take one for Ali would you?" She tossed a copy to the brooding teen. 

She followed them along the hallway, and stepped into a large office on the left. Inside, a girl stood in the centre of the room, the palm of her hand outstretched under the observant eyes of Professor Xavier, who was sat, watching carefully from the back of the room. A phonograph beside him moved music out of surrounding speakers.  
The girl screwed her eyes up tightly, concentrating hard.  
"Dammit." She flung her arm to her side in frustration. Suddenly a bright burst of blinding lights shot from her hand and flew across the room, shattering a plant pot in the corner. Watching the pot explode in a intense torrent of small lights, she cursed loudly, and immediately cringed as she remembered her company. Rushing over to gather the broken pieces of the pot, she swept at the floor with her hands, and looked up guiltily.  
Xavier didn't reprimand her, he simply smiled and waited.  
"See," Xavier said serenely, "you can do it"  
She looked up, confused, but grinning gladly.  
"Same time tomorrow"  
She nodded gratefully, and grabbed her things from the desk. "Afternoon Ali." Ororo called as the girl ran past her and out of the office.

She found Bobby and John in the living room. John was sat hunched up on a chair opposite Bobby, flicking his lighter open and closed repetitively. She sat down on the sofa beside Bobby crossed legged, and took a book from the table in front of her.  
"Where's Rogue"  
"I dunno," Bobby shrugged, "I think she's with Logan. Where were you today? You weren't in any classes"  
"With Professor Xavier, getting some practice"  
"Blow anything up today?" John asked, grinning.  
"Not all of us are as recklessly destructive as you y'know asshole"  
Bobby smiled, and John shot her a sceptical look.  
She glared at them defiantly, until she could fool them no longer, and threw up hands in defeat.  
"Okay, okay, a plant pot, alright"  
The two boys burst into laughter. "It's not funny! I could blind you with a single thought." She threatened playfully, and tossed her book at John.  
"Yeah, if you could aim straight"  
"You'll be sorry when you have to learn Braille pal"  
"Don't worry," Bobby said reassuringly, putting his arm around her shoulders, "you'll get it sooner or later"  
"Just as soon as you've broken every window, blasted a hole in every wall…" John teased.  
Ali said nothing, and flipped him off casually.  
"It must be nice to have such a supportive boyfriend." Bobby said, turning to Ali.  
John flipped up his lighter and blew the flame towards Bobby. It stretched out in a long streak, as if it had been fanned with petrol. Bobby leapt back, just avoiding the flash of blistering fire that rushed past him.  
"Jackass"  
Bobby stretched his hand out sharply, sending a blast of ice at John's lighter, instantly freezing it solid.  
"Hey-!" Not willing to get drawn into another of their arguments, Ali got up and started out of the room, good-naturedly thumping John in the shoulder as she passed. He grabbed her wrist and yanked her back. She groaned and fell over the back of his chair. Smiling subtly, John slid his hand around the back of her neck, pulling her down over his shoulder and kissed her. From the other side of the table, Bobby watched her touch his face tenderly as she slipped out of his grip and started up the stairs, and something in the pit of his stomach burned achingly. Jealousy.

Curfew for the older students was ten thirty, but since they were well trusted by the professors, they could afford give the lights-out a little slip sometimes. Besides, her room was found separate to the other student dorms, and whoever was on duty often forgot to check there. The mansion was quieter at night, and anyone who was to see it in the evening would probably take it to be a school like any other.

Ali rolled over and glanced at the clock on her bedside table. It was ten past eleven. She set down the book she was reading in the dim glow of small tea-light candles positioned around the room and heaved herself up. For a moment, she watched the figure at the end of her bed, as he scrawled some last minute notes on a piece of over-due homework that had until now slipped his mind.  
"John?"  
"What?" He mumbled, a pencil in his mouth.  
"Listen, I think maybe we should lay off the making out in front of Bobby and Rogue"  
"Why"  
"Because, it's kinda unfair you know? Feels like we're rubbing it in a little"  
He made no reply, and remained uncharacteristically focused on his work.  
"John. Come on, I mean it must be tough for them, having to watch us do exactly what they wish they could, and "  
"I know." He sighed, putting his work down and rubbing his head, frustrated. "I know. It's just hard"  
"Well think how hard it must be for them"  
"Since when did you become Miss considerate"  
"I'm a big mystery. Besides, they're friends. "  
"But it's not about them. It's about us, the two of us. It's like everything we do we have to think about them too"  
"It just feels weird, it's not fair. I mean it's not like we're always with them, right? We're not with them now"  
She grinned mischievously, and the gloom of the discussion ebbed away as he looked up at her, shaggy black hair sticking out at all angles, the tattooed flesh of her torso peering out under her shirt as she arched herself upright. He tossed his assignment to the floor and moved up the bed toward her. He ran his fingers through her hair and she leant in to kiss him. They slowly slid down onto the bed, and she slipped her arm around his back and pulled him down beside her. He held her head gently, his arm wrapped around her waist, running his hands over the warm skin on the small of her back.

Their affectionate moment was interrupted by a rap on the door. The caller didn't wait for permission to come in, and the door swung open. Ali jumped and sat up, and John looked over his shoulder to see the outline of Scott Summers silhouetted by the hall lights.  
Although his eyes were veiled by his protective glasses, Ali could feel his disapproving look, and she shrugged off his gaze in a casually uncomfortable way.  
"Lights Out. Back to your own room John." He said flatly and started down the hall, shooting a look at John, hinting him to get up and follow him out. John rolled his eyes and hauled himself up off the bed, straightening him thin grey t-shirt. Gathering his note books he jogged toward the door after Scott, who was lurking outside to make sure John was on his way.  
Before he disappeared into the corridor, he turned and darted back to her, and kissed her hard on the mouth. Pausing in the doorway, he winked, and all the candles in the room suddenly dwindled out, plunging the room into darkness.

John fell into step with Summers, smirking to himself at Scott's supposedly punishing stern silence. After a while he broke his quiet and spoke firmly, staring straight ahead.  
"Need I ask you to remember where you are John"  
John laughed, mocking his quietly authoritative tone. "I'm at a school. What's the problem"  
"That kind of behaviour is hardly appropriate"  
"In a private room? I bet you and Professor Grey get up to a lot more than that." He protested coolly.  
For a second, Summers' restraint gave way, and he turned to John, pointing his finger scoldingly.  
"What Professor Grey and I do outside of school is non of your concern. Anyway," he said, straightening up and returning to his previous, calmly sermonizing manner, "we're married"  
"Well you're still in a school. Wasn't that the point to begin with"  
"Yes, it was. You're in a school, and regardless of anyone else, you are a student here, a senior student, and I shouldn't have to remind you about improper behaviour"  
"Yeah, because I have to set a good example for all the other compliant little mutants." He turned a corner toward his dorm room. "Just like you do, huh?" John vanished into his room before Summers had a chance to reprimand him.

Summers shook his head at the wilful display of attitude that the residents of the manor had come to associate with John Allerdyce. He knew John wasn't a bad kid, despite his hard-headed manner. John was just one of those kids who took some extra work getting through to, and could often incite a little frustration along the way.  
Summers climbed the stairs up to the second floor of the mansion, where the room he shared with Jean was located, along with the quarters of all the other teachers at the school, the 'x-men'. He stopped at the door of Logan's room. The door was open, enough to see that the darkened room was presently uninhabited. Not surprising really, Logan had a habit of disappearing from time to time. However useful he was in a tight spot, he thought, Logan was hardly the type of guy you could rely on to stick around. He sighed. Logan had unquestionably come through and proved his courage and trouble for the team when it really mattered, on more than one occasion, but still there was just something about Logan's erratic tough-guy persona that didn't sit with him.

He quietly pushed his door open, in case Jean was already asleep. He stepped inside carefully, and spotted Jean, sat up in bed. She was concentrating on a thick book, rested on a desk at the side of the room. The book rose into the air, and steadily floated across the room. Scott walked in and slumped down on the bed beside her. "Evening," she asked warmly, as the book glided into her lap, "everything ok"  
"Yeah. Yeah, fine." He shrugged. "I caught John in Ali's room after hours again"  
She smiled. "Did you talk to him about it"  
"Yeah"  
"I imagine he didn't apologise and promise not to do it again"  
"Not quite. Just the standard shrug and defiant backchat." He sighed. "He just doesn't listen. Not just about this, he never pays attention to me. He always has something to say"  
She leaned into him and pat his back comfortingly. "It's not just you Scott. Don't take it personally. He just needs a little more time and consideration than most of the other kids. He's had a rough time. He'll come around eventually"  
Scott pulled of his clothes and climbed into the bed.  
"He's not a bad kid Jean, I know that. He's not a problem. He needs to settle down, but it's taking longer than we expected"  
"Well I think him being with Ali is a good thing. I think maybe it'll help him settle down"  
"What, the girl that sneaks out of the house at night to play guitar in derelict clubs? Yeah, they'll be great together"  
"She's a good kid. She's had a hard time too. I think she'll help him understand that people care about him, and he should let them help him. And of course he's going to want to 'explore' their relationship," she said, looking amused, as Scott shot her a glance, "but that's to be expected. He's a teenage boy"  
"Yeah, you're right. I should be more patient with him"  
"You're a great teacher Scott." She kissed his lips and shuffled down to sleep.

Down the corridor, John crept through the door of his room, wincing as it creaked piercingly.  
"Where are you going?" Said Bobby, surprising him as he sat up.  
"What, I gotta ask your permission to take a leak now Ice-Man"  
He ran along the hall, as light-footed as he could along the other dorms. Stepping into a room at the end of the corridor, he saw Ali, lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. Alerted to his presence, she jumped up and propped herself up onto her elbows. "What are you doing here"  
"Dropping off some homework." He said, waving a book at her.  
"At-" she squinted at the clock, straining to read it in the darkness. She waved her hand over its face, a faint glow radiating from her skin, just bright enough to read it. "- one o'clock in the morning? Wow, having a reform are we? Suddenly Xavier's favourite student"  
"Yeah, you're right." He grinned, tossing the book to the floor and bounding onto the bed. He pinned her down by her shoulders and kissed her neck. Taken by his artlessness, she embraced him. Her hands began to fin their way under his shirt, when the light streaming in from the open door caught her attention.  
"Wait - What if someone shows up again"  
"Laser-eyes and company have already been around, I saw them come up this way"  
"What if they come back, double check"  
"What're they gonna do?" He said, lifting his head from hers momentarily.  
"I dunno, give you an earlier curfew," she pulled him off her and looked him in the eyes, forcing her point, "put you in isolation"  
John sighed and sat back. "He warned you"  
"He didn't warn me. He just gave the whole 'disappointed you should know better setting an example' thing. Trying to get all 'buddy' with me"  
Ali shrugged. "He's just trying to help"  
"Help? How is he helping?" fumed John. He had a searing look in his eyes; she knew she had hit a nerve.  
"He's just trying to…get you to settle in, you know, get you to trust him"  
"What reason do I have to trust him? If he thinks I'm gonna open up and spill my guts to him, he can think again"  
"He just wants to give you a chance in life, they all do"  
"Bullshit! They want us to conform and shape us into ever-tolerant doormats! Laying down and taking everything that's thrown at us"  
"For Christ's sake John, what is it with you"  
"This damn place, that's what's with me Ali. Can't you understand that we don't need their help? We can take care of ourselves, without taking all the crap we have to deal with! People fear us, Ali, they hate us! They'd kill us all if they could, because they don't understand us. And we're taught never to fight back"  
"Not all of them are like that "  
"You sound just like them! You know what they do to us, Ali, you've seen it just like I have, they way they treat us"  
She turned her head, not looking at him anymore, and it was silent a moment, before she replied with quiet fatalism.  
"If you're so convinced you don't need them, why are you here"  
John stopped, stunned at her cutting question. "You know what? That's a good question"  
With that her turned and marched out of her room.  
"John"  
He was gone.  
"Fuck"  
She sighed, instantly regretting what she had said. Moments later, Jean Grey appeared at the door.  
"What's going on down here"  
"John's gone." Ali, her head pressed between her hands.  
"What do you mean he's gone?" Jean asked, sitting down on the end of the bed, a look of gentle concern on her face. Ali shrugged her usual shrug, but her face was racked with helplessness.  
"It's okay. We'll find him."

John sat by the mansion's huge swimming pool, watching his reflection distort as the water rippled in the breeze. He leaned forward over his knees as ran his hands through his brown hair, pressing his head hard as his hands turned to fists. He punched his hands down to the ground by his sides. 'How could she say that?' He thought angrily. 'She knows exactly what they do to us. She knows what its like, not to have anyone. The kids at the school, they come from their suburban family homes, and they condition them, wrap them up in cotton wool. They don't know what it's really like, out there, in their world. They cocoon them, and then one day, they're gonna go out into the real world, where the 'x-men' can't protect them, and they're gonna get killed'  
He sighed. Maybe she was right, maybe he wasn't giving them a chance. He never trusted anyone, and he always messed everything up. He had always been alone, and angry. Now he had people, people who wanted to help, and he froze them out at every turn. "Why do you always do this?" her words echoed in his head. He was messing this up, just like always. He thrust his head into his hands. "I'm sorry"  
"Hey kid." A brawny figure sat down beside him. "Having a midnight swim"  
John didn't reply, but wiped his face on his shirt and stared up across the vast green lawn.  
"Got a light?" Logan asked, pulling out fat cigar from his pocket.  
John tossed his lighter absently to Logan.  
"Had a lovers tiff huh?" He asked gruffly, amongst a cloud of thick smoke.  
"Kind of." John said flatly. "I'm such an asshole"  
"Why? Because you want to stand up for yourself? Because you don't want to be persecuted for something you didn't do? Hell if that makes you an asshole, this is a big old house full of assholes"  
Logan sighed. "Listen kid, I know how hard it is to comply to this, 'keep your hands to yourself' kinda policy they got going here. You're not alone there. Believe me, sometimes there's nothing I'd enjoy more than to take a swing at those 'mutant-problem' protesters if you know what I mean. But I think the Professor's got it pretty much figured in the long run. You got good reason to be angry, just try and hold that it back, until the right time comes to let it out when it's needed." Logan rose to his feet. "You'll get your chance"  
John nodded, more to himself than to Logan, who was already heading back up to the mansion.  
"Come on, don't you have school tomorrow?"

John pulled himself up, and began to follow Logan up the stone pathway to the house, where Dr. Grey, Ali and a half-dressed Cyclops were waiting for his safe return. Ali looked at him withapologetic eyes, and he reached for her hand.  
"You're an ass."  
John smiled. That, in Ali language, was her roundabout way of expressing her concern for him.  
"Yeah, you're not so bad yourself."

As he started back to his dorm, Cyclops put his hand on his shoulder.

Perhaps Logan was right; maybe, he wasn't as alone as he thought.


End file.
